It’s no secret that Singapore is home to an incredible food scene – ranging from the vibrant local hawker stalls slinging $4 char kway teow to fine dining institutions so exclusive they don’t like to tell you the menu or price (you know the ones). This food culture dominance is measurable – ranking 7th globally for countries with the highest number of Michelin restaurants per capita.

So naturally, when it comes to picking a restaurant for your partner’s birthday on an international holiday to the Merlion island, the pressure was on…

the location, that view

After much second guessing and reading every menu with a .sg domain on the internet, I eventually settled on Vue – mostly because of the view (no points for guessing where the restaurant’s name comes from!). Vue is a modern European restaurant and wine bar located on the 19th floor of the OUE Bayfront building in Collyer Quay, offering panoramic views of Marina Bay and Singapore’s glittering city skyline. The restaurant features an incredible copper vaulted ceiling over the entire interior, complete with floor-to-ceiling windows that enable all diners to enjoy the view whilst eating. Vue also has an outdoor terrace and a dedicated whisky lounge housing over 150 labels for those keen to enjoy a casual drink rather than a sit-down affair.

At night time, the restaurant and view takes it up a notch. The indoor lighting showcases the beautiful bronzed vaulted ceiling, casting a luxurious glow over the entire restaurant creating an almost art deco feel.

Outside, the Marina Bay Sands and its famous “ship” sky deck lights up, providing an iconic Singaporean experience for a couple of excited tourists!

the food

Now onto the food and drink…Vue have a number of different dining and drinking options, including a six course Discovery Menu, a Charcuterie & Spritz offering, Saturday Flow & Feast, a two to five course Weekday Set Lunch, a range of Prix Fixe options and the standard a la carte offering.

We opted for the four course Sunset Dinner Prix Fixe, only available for the first (5.30pm) and last seating (9.30pm) of the night. I’d booked us in the first seating so we could enjoy the view transitioning from daylight into night time!

The four course Prix Fixe menu was split into appetiser, middle, main and dessert. The full menu is in the picture below, but featured an array of incredible produce from scallops to lobster, caviar, pork belly and wagyu. Vegetarians might feel a bit shortchanged however, with only one option per section available.

For appetisers, we had the Pork Two Ways (Sakura pork paté, cromesquis, port wine, nectarine and crispy capers) and the Dutch Kingfish Ceviche (avocado, tomatoes, ikura, vodka lime dressing).

The pork itself was juicy and flavourful, served as a rolled paté and also minced into a delightfully crunchy cromesquis (distinct from croquettes as they are dipped in batter rather than egg and breadcrumbs). The sweet port wine sauce was a familiar compliment to the pork flavour, with just a little needed to elevate every porky bite. I also really enjoyed the crispy fried capers, a welcome addition to cut through the richness of the pork and glazey texture of the port wine.

The Dutch kingfish ceviche was also beautifully presented, with the choice of plateware mirroring the holes in the seaweed cracker on top! As a firmer fish, kingfish stands up well to a punchier sauce and the vodka lime dressing was a nice balance of creamy and piquant. I’ll look past the creamed avocado – my pet peeve, and move right along to the ikura pearls which provided great pops of fishy flavour and texture.

Onto the Middle course – this was the highlight of the meal. We both chose the Grilled Lobster Tail (Chitose white corn, sweetcorn caramel velouté, Oscietra caviar). The lobster tail was perfectly cooked and seasoned, with the creamy corn velouté accentuating its almost velvety texture. The pieces of white corn itself lived up to their Chitose provenance – also known as Hokkaido corn and known for its exceptional sweetness and juiciness. This was a refreshing palate cleanser in between bites of decadent lobster smothered in velouté! For the pièce de résistance – a generous serving of Oscietra caviar (topped with a sliver of gold leaf, obvs).

For main course, we opted for the Oven Roasted Maple Leaf Duck Breast (broccolini, orange fennel salad, honey soy glaze) and the Grilled Alfonsino (leek fondue, mozuku seaweed, bottarga, tomato dashi consommè).

I can never go past duck – when cooked well it’s hard to beat (for my personal taste!). The breast was cut fairly thick (read: generous) and cooked beautifully, rendering it juicy and bursting with that trademark salty, meaty duck flavour. I thought the honey soy glaze was a bit unnecessary, distracting from the meat itself so I didn’t eat that much of it. The orange and fennel salad was fine, nothing special though.

The Grilled Alfonsino was also cooked well, firm but juicy with a light crusty skin. The bottarga chips on top were a nice touch (fancy fish and chips anyone?) and the leek fondue (when does a sauce become a fondue?) was tasty and had a nice smooth consistency.

And finally, for dessert! By this stage we’d lingered so long over our first three courses that we had to move outside for sweets (a great outcome as we got to enjoy the balcony and night time lights). We chose the Arabica Hazelnut (praline feuilletine layer, hazelnut yoghurt mousse, tiramisu ice cream) and Tropical Mango (koshikari rice mousse, mango confit, tropical sorbet). Complimentary petit fours were also served, and then if that wasn’t enough Vue also surprised my partner with an extra birthday treat – a glazed chocolate mousse and accompanying happy birthday message!

The petit fours were a bit meh and felt perfunctory, but apart from that the rest of the desserts were delicious. I can never decide between a coffee flavour profile, something fruity or something chocolatey for dessert – so getting a bit of all three was a real treat. The only downside was having to eat them very quickly as the ice cream and sorbets were rapidly melting in the balmy Singaporean weather outside!

All in all, a wonderful meal with a stunning view – some might say a quintessential (high end) Singaporean experience! There are so many incredible restaurants in Singapore but I’d recommend for anyone looking for an experience that makes you feel like you’re literally, on top of the world.